Scientific background

Tumors consist of a mixture of neoplastic epithelial cells, endothelial cells, fibroblasts, myofibroblasts, and immune cells, which collectively form the tumor microenvironment. The association of immune cell infiltrates with prognosis, in various types of cancer, has been demonstrated in a large number of publications (see Nature Reviews Cancer 2012, Fridman et al.). The complex interplay between these cells including the type, density, location and immune functions, is implicated in disease progression, metastasis, and drug response/resistance and form the paradigm of the immune contexture (Galon J et al. Science 2006).